SECTION VI

CRIME IN THE CITIES

CRIME IN THE CITIES

This section deals with serious crimes reported in the large urban cities
of the state. These cities represent 19 percent of the population and
historically account for one third of the reported Crime Index of the
state.

This analysis involves the latest ten-year period 1991-2000 and endeavors
further to identify crime trends in these urban areas.

The cities included in this analysis were initially categorized as urban
municipalities (i.e., densely populated with extensive development) by
the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of State and
Regional Planning, Bureau of Statewide Planning, and will continue to
be used for comparative purposes.

The criteria used in the selection of these cities were (1) classified
as urban character and (2) have a population of 50,000 or more inhabitants.

For further comparative analysis, the urban cities were subdivided into
two distinct groupings.

Group number one consisted of the state's six largest urban centers with
populations of 80,000 or over and is categorized as "Major Urban."

The second group included the "Major Urban" and the additional urban
communities with populations of 50,000 or more inhabitants, and is referred
to as the "Urban 15."

Distribution:

Six major urban centers--Camden, Newark, Jersey City, Trenton, Paterson
and Elizabeth--collectively represent 11 percent of New Jersey's total
population. These same urban centers, during the period 1991 through
2000, accounted for 25 percent of the state's total crime.

"Major Urban" centers from 1991 through 2000 accounted for 45 percent
of all violent crime and 22 percent of the nonviolent crimes in the
entire state.

The 15 urban municipalities represent 19 percent of the state's total
population.

"Urban 15" municipalities accounted for 35 percent of New Jersey's
total Crime Index. Violent crime was 58 percent of the state total,
while nonviolent crime was 32 percent of the state total during this
ten-year period.

Nearly seven out of every 10 robberies reported occurred in the "Urban
15" cities during this ten-year period.

STREET CRIME

There has never been a clear-cut definition for street crime within the
criminal justice system. The nation's clearinghouse for the collection
and dissemination of criminal statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
has no criteria in the categorization of specific crimes to be designated
or defined as "street crimes." More and more this media term has been
confused with the violent crime group of murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated
assault.

Although any particular crime can and does occur on the street, this
analysis, because of reporting constraints within the Uniform Crime Reporting
System, is limited to defining street crimes as those offenses which occur,
or are most likely to occur, on streets, highways, parking lots, etc..
These crimes include highway robbery, purse-snatching, theft from autos,
theft of auto parts and accessories, theft of bicycles, and motor vehicle
thefts. All are crimes against property and only one, highway robbery,
falls in the violent crime group.

During the ten-year period 1991-2000, the "Urban 15" cities accounted
for 41 percent of the street crimes in the state.

Three out of every four highway robberies occurred in the "Urban
15" during the ten-year period.

More than half of all motor vehicle thefts during the survey span
occurred in these 15 urban municipalities.

Forty-four percent of all purse-snatchings were perpetrated in the
"Urban 15" cities.

The street crime categories of highway robbery, and larceny of bicycles
, were at their lowest levels during 2000, in this ten-year period.

The accompanying table reflects percent distribution of street crime
for the "Urban 15" cities for the years 1991-2000.